Parachute



led May 8. 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 June 7, 1932. G. rRlcAu 1,862,247

PARAGHUTE Filed May 8, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 fig 4.

June 7, 1932. G, TR|CAU 1,862,247

PAR/CHUTE Filed Hay 8. 1930 5 ShBQtS-Shet 5 In vento r. Gabriel, Trca, u.. Atomeg/.ym

Patented June 7, 1932 PATENT OFFICE GABRIEL TRICU, OF VANVES, FRANCE Y PABACHUTE Application illed Hay, 1930,.Seria1 No. 450,792, and in Luxemburg September 20, 1929.

This invention relates to parachutes. Experience has proved, that it is at the moment of opening that the covering of a parachute is subjected to the greatest strains, which are sometimes so great as to split the fabric cover or break the supports with which the cover is provided. for supporting the weight snspende'dthererom.

The urpose of the present invention is to enab e arachutes to be constructed which better fu fill the various requirements of ractice than hitherto and which, in particuar, have a greater resistance, therefore of greater security. f The invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic partial plan view showing one form of construction of a parachute cover according to the invention.

Fi 2 and 3 are similar views to Fig. 1 showin further forms of construction respectiv y. j

Fig. 4 diagrammatically illustrates the relative position of the panels of a parachute constructed according to a fourth method of construction. i

Fig. 5 is a artly perspective view seen slightly from a ove of a parachute made according to the fourth method of construction.

Figs. 6 and 7 diagrammatically illustrate two methods of securing the supports for the weight carried.

According to the present invention, a parachute is constructed which at the moment of opening is notliable to any rislr of its cover tearing, or of its supports b reaklng,l and having a greater stabilit 'during working, and a slower falling spee for a given slze cover and load.

The cover a forming the supporting member of the parachute is composed 'as usual of a plurality of panels a1 of suitable fabric, but, according to the present invention, certain of these'pancls are not connected at one or more portions of their length thus pro-` viding, in the exam le shown in Fig. 1, two series of midway s its a".

'l' ese slits a are referably provided at their ends with suita le stop pomts.

JAspeed attains itsmaximum, `(the'resistancecf the air also attains its maximum,) tliecover opens with violent force, the pressure which a0 it undergoes at that moment is considerable, the slits a prevent the full force of this pressure bein exerted, as under the influence of the full orce said slits open, this reduction of pressure be' greater or less according to e5 the number and en h of the slits. There is therefore a partial low through of the air compressed 4under the cover. The pressure decreasing, the slits close again but reopen if the pressure again increases.

The presence of these slits limits the violence of the shockjon the cover at the moment of its openi Further-,the parachute has ater stabit the' points of exhaust ormed by the slits a limit theoscillations 75 and even completely absorb them, thus insuring for the parachute and more particularly its load a vertical position during descent.

With a view to obtaining an easier `and A moreeconomcal mamfacturea pieeesof suitlo able fabric is cut into a certain number of panels b, the'length of which is the function of the width of said fabric and of the diameter to be given to the parachute.

The selvedges of these panels are preferi5 ably bound with strengthening webbing, and the panels are joined, two by two, in the direction ofthe warp, leaving slits, the number of which may vary, three slits being shown in the example illustrated. o

The panels b are so joined that the opening of the slits are directed towards the centre of the parachute.

When all these panels are joined a square 1 is formed and on the four sides thereof panels c are joined, said panels c being cut in the form of arcs of circles so that a circular parachute is finally obtained.

In joining the panels c with the panels b,

' selvedge and bias to bias instead of selvedge to bias, as is usually done.

The seams of the straight edges have one or more slits which are cut in alternate sides so that the currents o f air thus formed each sweep over one panel and then unite above the. seam of tlfiebias.-sides. All or some of tie bias seams mayalso be provided with s its.

With a view to channelizing the` current of airrcreated on the covering, over a consid erable distance, in order to increase the amountK of the depression above each panel, and consequently increase the supporting power of eachpanel, the following arrangement is adopted :-l

For constructing a parachute a of the ordinary. umbrella type, a-plurality of. circular pieces of, fabric are cut, spherical rings g being thus obtained. lThe -edges g1 and g2 of these rings g' areboundwitha suitable web-- hing, the lower edgey g2 4being wrinkled (that of the greater diameter) and thel upper edge g1 is left at its original length. f

The rings are 'oined as. shown in Figs. 4 and 5 making eac ring considerably overlap the ring above it and aresecured together by joining Vthem atcertain points of their seams.4

For the rings ofsmall diameter that is to say thosenearestto-the summit'o lthe parachute, thesejoining points can only be situated at every other seam, the rings farthest from thesummit may be joined at every seam or may even be j oined@ between the seams.

If desired the panels can be-arranged to entirely overlap each other whereb a practically double parachute -is obtaine F Y In order to avoid the-drawbacks of the usual methodsof attachmentr of the supports to the 'cover-by means of a knot, which-methods oi attachment cause the supports to lose a considerable amount of strengthowing to` the fact of .thefraying produced by the sliding-of the said knots over each 'other at the moment of the maximum strain (atithe opening of the cover) I F.provide supports comprising webbing b 1g. 6) sewn 1nA suitable manner on the cover a and which isprefer ably also secured on the cover at poi-nts inp volving the use of the strengthening elements ofthe cover, such, for instance, as the circumferential strengthening webbing c and the webbing d of the leading edge.

ropeg or attachement webbings e is considerably lowerv than that of the support f composed of a (preferably of a cord not twilied with hemp an whip ed with cotton.

In the case o a very violent shock, the attachment webbing e being weaker than the support, may be broken, in which case the support f, one end ofwhich passes above and the other below the leading edge, thus embracing the strengthening element d, falls astride on the latter which by this time does not have to support theshocksutered by the braid e, the support f is simply slightly lengthened, which is negligible. If the support were broken at its point of attachment, it would be still held by the leading edge.

The system of attachment in question does not include any knot.

Assuming t at it-is more advantageous to reinforce a short webbing rather than a long support, the attachment shown in Fig. 7, is formed as follows v The support fis passed into the loop e1 of the webbing e for instance twice or three times in succession, so that it may not sli the two strands of the support f are firm y sewn then wired across at f1. One of the strands is then passed into the hole formed above the leading edge, then both strands are firmly sewn and wiredacross at f.

In the methodl of construction shown in Fig. 2 the supports are arranged as in the method of construction of Fig. l, except that those attached to the four corners of the original square are simply passed into a hole formed above the leadin edge.

In order to increase the sta ility and also to prevent oscillations duringdescents. I arrange between the supports, succeeding each other but situated. in the same sector of the circumference 'of the parachute base` polygonal elements, for instance, of material such as a light fabric. which facing the-wind decrease the extent of oscillation. f These elements are secured reaching to the leading edge of the cover or lower down between the latter and the load'. Y

From lthe above description it will be :understood that arranging longitudinal or lateral slits in the cover'enabl'es the resistlis ance of parachutes to beincreased. The'se slits acting as safety valves which reduce the shock at opening, the bearing force of said parachutes being increased also by creating, means of these slits,*a'zone of depression a ove the upper surface of the cover.

What I clalinas lmy invention 4and desire to by Letters Patent of the United States E In a parachute, u. plurality of spherical rin of fabric formin the suspensory cover,

I sai rin s being wrinled at their lower edge (that o greater diameter), the upper edge being left at its full length, said upper edge of the lower ring overlapping the lower edge of the upper rin lmid said rings being se- 10 cured together on y at certain points so as to provide openings in the cover directed towards the pole of the cover.

GABRIEL TRICAU. 

